The USC students are members of ReadersPLUS, an America Reads/America Counts literacy and math-tutoring program offered by the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. The books were donated by the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, with whom JEP established a partnership in 2014.

Special relationships

The tutors have been working with about 300 students throughout the semester, and each personally selected a book as a holiday gift for every child to read over the winter break. In addition to getting their own new books, students also got to choose another one to share with a sibling or friend.

“Our USC students have a relationship with their kids, making the gift-giving even more special,” said Tina Koneazny, associate director of administration and educational outreach for JEP. “The tutors know the kids’ interests, and each tutor selected a unique book that they thought their children would enjoy and personally wrapped copies for each.”

Melanie Alvarez, a junior studying cognitive science and psychology, is a tutor and site coordinator at John W. Mack Elementary School.

“The children in the schools we serve often come from disadvantaged households and because of this may not always spend the holidays as comfortably or happily as some,” she said. “Therefore, it is with great devotion that I meet with my tutors to wrap each individual book and with great joy that we hand them out on our last day of the semester at their school.”

Reading between the lines

The mission of the Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation is to get books into the hands of kids, Koneazny said.

“The foundation realizes that so many kids don’t have books at home, and if they don’t, how are the children going to become strong readers? I was really excited by [Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation Executive Director] Fran Morris Rosman’s offer of extra books for siblings this year because I thought, ‘What a nice message to send to our kids, that holidays are a time for receiving but also a time for giving,’” Koneazny added.

Alvarez said she has seen this joyous gift-giving event happen at her school site for the past two years, and she is looking forward to the continuation of the tradition.

[The students] understand that our gift is not only a Christmas present, but also an opportunity for them to continue to practice their reading outside of school.

Melanie Alvarez

“The students are happy with their books, but it is the sincere thank you from the teachers that touches my heart,” she said. “They understand that our gift is not only a Christmas present, but also an opportunity for them to continue to practice their reading outside of school.”

The ReadersPLUS tutors work with their students one-on-one during the school day, helping two to five individual students with reading or math each week, spending two hours with each student. There is also an after-school program for the tutors, who work with students in small groups, engaging them in other academic enrichment activities like the WonderKids science curriculum and the Little Yoginis program.

A better life

The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation was created in 1993 by the famed vocalist. According to the foundation’s website, Fitzgerald wanted to foster a love of reading as well as a love of music, and she hoped to provide assistance to the at-risk and disadvantaged members of local communities — assistance that would allow them to achieve a better quality of life.

“In the end, reading is truly a magical experience. What better time to give the magic of reading than during the most magical time of the year?” said Jonell Yablonski, a master’s student from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and ReadersPLUS tutor.

“This experience has provided me with the memorable opportunity to watch my students revel in delight as they received a little holiday joy they could bring home and share with family and friends.”